#booklaunch – Rosepoint Publishing

Murder at the Mushroom Festival – a #BookReview

Title: Murder at the Mushroom Festival (A Kelly Jackson Mystery) by Janet Finsilver

Genre: Currently #4576 on Amazon Best Sellers Rank in Kindle eBooks, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery, Cozy

Publisher: Kensington Publishing/Lyrical

Publication Date: To be released April 17, 2018 – Happy publication day!

Source: Kensington Publishing/Lyrical and NetGalley

Title and Cover: Murder at the Mushroom Festival – Cute cozy cover

Murder at the Mushroom Festival is the fourth in the Kelly Jackson series and my first experience with the series or the author. In this installment, Kelly Jackson has been named permanent manager of the Redwood Cove B&B and is gearing up for the festivities by bringing in Elise Jenkins to host a cooking class featuring mushrooms. Continue reading “Murder at the Mushroom Festival – a #BookReview”

The Advice Column Murders – a #BookReview

Title: The Advice Column Murders: The Oakwood Mystery Series by Leslie Nagel

Genre: Currently # 235 on Amazon Best Sellers Rank in Kindle eBooks, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery, Traditional Detectives

Publisher: Alibi

Publication Date: To be released April 3, 2018 – Happy Publication Day!

Source: Random House Publishing Group-Alibi and NetGalley

Title and Cover: The Advice Column Murders – Attractive, compelling cozy mystery cover

My first introduction to this series, I found the novel on the more serious side of a cozy mystery. As the third in the series, the protagonist is Charley Carpenter who is the owner of a vintage shop she calls Old Hat Vintage Fashions. This is apparently meant to be a standalone, though characters are brought forward from the first two in the series, including the situation with her shop which is now undergoing a major renovation that she will call Old Hat New Beginnings. (This is also my third book in a row in which the female protagonist is a Charley, Charlie, or Charlee–it must be getting popular to call a female protagonist Charley!) Continue reading “The Advice Column Murders – a #BookReview”

Last Night – a #BookReview

Title: Last Night by Kerry Wilkinson

Genre: Currently #806 on Amazon Best Sellers Rank in Kindle eBooks, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Suspense, Psychological

Publisher: Bookouture

Publication Date: March 28, 2018

Source: Bookouture and NetGalley

Title and Cover: Last Night – Cover hints at remote field

Apparently not an English author new on the scene, my first read in one of his standalone books due out the end of this month. Rose Denton wakes behind the wheel, it’s two-something and she is apparently in the middle of a field with blood on her windshield and hood. She is confused, has no memory for how she might have gotten there, and after an inspection of her own body (nothing sore or broken), then around the car can find no apparent victim, animal or human. She has no explanation for her careen through the hedge or why she is here. Continue reading “Last Night – a #BookReview”

If I Live – a #BookReview

Title: If I Live (If I Run series) by Terri Blackstock

Genre: Currently #6 on Amazon Best Sellers Rank Kindle eBooks, Literature & Fiction, Religious & Inspirational Fiction, Christian, Romance, Mystery & Suspense

Publisher: Zondervan

Publication Date: To be released March 6, 2018 – Happy Publication Day!!

Source: Zondervan and NetGalley

Title and Cover: If I Live – Not sure how the cover conveys subject but links the trilogy with the other two covers

Protagonist Casey Cox is on the run, still, and doing a darned good job at evading capture. She has been doing this for awhile and is quite good at it, but she does have a person she can trust–if she can just connect with him. She has been accused of a murder she didn’t commit. Private Investigator Dylan Roberts, hired by Brent’s family to find the killer, has tried to connect with her. He has new information. POV switches first person from Casey to Dylan to antagonist dirty cop Keegan. Not just dirty–sociopathic scary icky.

Casey is in Memphis and desperate for money takes a job with slightly shady attorney Barbero. Dylan has investigated all the circumstances and comes to believe in her innocence and is working toward getting her to go safely back to Shreveport to clear her name. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to know who they can trust. Together, she and Dylan decide to take the evidence gathered to the DA. Dylan arrives at his office to present the case but dumbs down a bit and things go south. Just how deep is the Keegan quagmire? Continue reading “If I Live – a #BookReview”

#CursesBoiledAgain – a #BookReview

Title: Curses, Boiled Again!: A Lobster Shack Mystery by Shari Randall

Genre: Currently # 507 on Amazon Best Sellers Rank in Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery, Cozy, Culinary, amateur sleuths

Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks

Publication Date: To be released January 30, 2018

Source: St. Martin’s Paperbacks and NetGalley

Title and Cover: Curses, Boiled Again! – Cute cozy mystery cover

Welcome to Mystic Bay and the Lazy Mermaid Lobster Shack where the proprietor, Aunt Gully, is a combination of your favorite aunt and feisty grandmother (my favorite character)–and her lobster rolls are to die for. Protagonist Allegra (Allie) Larkin has returned to this small New England hamlet to help Gully Fontana with the Memorial Day Lobster Roll contest and to rest an ankle now in a boot from a ballet dance injury. Her Aunt Gully recently opened her lobster shack to accolades with her lobster roll with secret sauce and was invited to participate in the contest covered by the YUM Food Network. Winning the contest would more than boost her little endeavor. Unfortunately, one of the four judges doesn’t make it alive to the next contestant. Continue reading “#CursesBoiledAgain – a #BookReview”

An Eye For An Eye – a Book Review

Title: An Eye For An Eye (an Ellie Mathews Novel book #2) by Caroline Fardig

Genre: Currently #2077 on Amazon Best Sellers Rank in Kindle eBooks, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery, Police Procedurals

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services LLC

Publication Date: To be released January 23, 2018 – Happy Publication Day!

Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title and Cover: An Eye For An Eye – Cover depicts scene from book

Ellie Matthews switched to teaching at her local college after leaving her criminalist position with former partner Detective Nick Baxter. Ellie carries a lot of baggage and prefers the quiet, quasi-anonymous position of the college professor. Then one of her sister’s college friends goes missing and she finds herself thrust right back into the fray. This is the second in the series. Continue reading “An Eye For An Eye – a Book Review”

An Engineered Injustice – a #BookReview

Title: An Engineered Injustice (Philadelphia Legal #2) by William L. Myers, Jr.

Genre: Currently #31 on Amazon Best Sellers Rank in Books, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Thrillers & Suspense, Legal

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Publication Date: To be released January 23, 2018

Source: Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley

Title and Cover: An Engineered Injustice – Great cover

What’s worst than a plane crash or train wreck that can kill or maim hundreds at a time? In this particular event, a passenger train crashes in North Philadelphia resulting in multiple fatalities with hundreds injured. It’s not long before criminal defense attorney Vaughn Coburn gets a call regarding his cousin Eddy, the engineer, and a survivor. He and his cousin share a shameful secret caused when they were both young and dumb. Vaughn owes Eddy, and both their families–big time, and he is forced to accept his defense. Continue reading “An Engineered Injustice – a #BookReview”

#NeedtoKnow – a #BookReview

Title: Need to Know by Karen Cleveland

Genre: Currently #98 on Amazon Best Sellers Rank in Books, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Thrillers & Suspense, Espionage

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Publication Date: To be released January 23, 2018

Source: Ballantine Books and NetGalley

Title and Cover: Need to Know – Simple cover, but conveys interior

Ms. Cleveland has done a pretty admirable job with her debut novel, Need to Know, or as my hubby, Navy veteran used to say the “NTK.” She has crafted a spell-binding psychological-political espionage plot that gains momentum as the protagonist Vivian Miller gets ever deeper in do-do. (I understand that this book has been optioned for a movie.) Continue reading “#NeedtoKnow – a #BookReview”

#Strangers – a #BookReview

Title: Strangers by Ursula Archer and Arno Strobel

Genre: Currently # 3042 on Amazon Best Sellers Rank in Kindle eBooks, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery, International Mystery & Crime

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Publication Date: To be released January 9, 2018 – Happy Publication Date!

Source: Minotaur Books and NetGalley

Title and Cover: Strangers – Cover conveys plot scene

Set in Germany, Joanna Berrigan confronts a stranger in her home who alleges to be her fiancé. There is only one problem with that–she doesn’t know him, and though he is adamant that he lives with her in the house, has nothing of his in the home to support that claim. Erik Thieben maintains he belongs there and, terrified, she begins the journey to either escape, prove him wrong, or together sort through what has happened. Continue reading “#Strangers – a #BookReview”

#GristMillRoad – a #BookReview

Title: Grist Mill Road by Christopher J Yates

Genre: Currently #188 on Amazon Best Sellers Rank in Kindle eBooks, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Thrillers, Crime

Publisher: Picador

Publication Date: To be released January 9, 2018

Source: Picador and NetGalley

Title and Cover: Grist Mill Road – Cover has an obvious tie to plot

No, you can’t shift into neutral and let your eyes drift over these pages because they caught your attention immediately. This is no simple plot and not easily told–it requires a reader to fully engage–absorb the flashbacks so you can understand what is happening (and more importantly why) in the present (which is 2008). The setting is the beautiful Swangum Mountains, trails, trees, and rocks. But a brutal act in a clearing in the forest sears forever the three kids involved. In a way, each was blinded by their own perception of the event, remember it differently, but only one lost an eye. Continue reading “#GristMillRoad – a #BookReview”

Splintered Silence – a Book Review

Title: Splintered Silence (A Bone Gap Travellers novel) by Susan Furlong

Genre: Currently #956 on Amazon Best Sellers Rank in Kindle eBooks, Literature & Fiction, Women’s Fiction, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Women Sleuths

Publisher: Kensington Press

Publication Date: December 26, 2017

Source: Kensington Press and NetGalley

Title and Cover: Splintered Silence – Backwoods road, country setting

Former Marine MP Brynn Callahan and Wilco (her cadaver dog) have returned to the Appalachians of Tennessee to stay with her grandparents who raised her after three tours with the Marines. Brynn and Wilco (Will Comply) are both suffering from PTSD after an IED explosion ended their tour. Splintered Silence is the first in the Bone Gap Travellers Mystery series, featuring the Irish Travellers. Often in conflict with the “settled” of the nearby town of McCreary, the Irish Travellers prefer to keep to themselves as a strong knit clan. Brynn’s Human Remains Detection (HRD) dog reverts to his training when he detects a body in the nearby woods. Continue reading “Splintered Silence – a Book Review”

The Wild Road to Key West – a Book Review

Title: The Wild Road to Key West-The Cave of the Stars by Michael Reisig

Genre: (Historically listed as Literature & Fiction, Historical Fiction, Men’s Adventures, Travel, and Sea Adventures)

Publisher: Clear Creek Press

Publication Date: December 15, 2017

Source: ARC from Author

Title and Cover: The Wild Road to Key West – Cover continues the series brand

You know you can’t go wrong with a new offering from Michael Reisig in his Key West series and I’m excited to present: The Wild Road to Key West, The Cave of the Stars. This is the eighth of the series and finds the Hole in the Coral Wall Gang scrambling once again to duck in and out of the richly descriptive jungles of South America in one piece.

Reisig always sets a frantic pace in chapter one that will continue through his latest adventure. This one begins with the rescue an old friend, Captain O’Neal now of the South Florida DEA. He has tangled in the Venezuelan jungles with a powerful gem-mining warlord, Santiago Talla. They discover Arturio, who is given to unhealthy games of Russian Roulette in the local bar. He knows the area and becomes their guide. Continue reading “The Wild Road to Key West – a Book Review”

Stowed Away – a Book Review

Title: Stowed Away (A Maine Clambake Mystery) by Barbara Ross

Genre: Currently #30 on Amazon Best Sellers Rank in Kindle eBooks, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery

Publisher: Kensington Books

Publication Date: To be released December 26 2017

Source: Kensington Books and NetGalley

Title and Cover: Stowed Away – Cover promises cute cozy mystery

I love it when the cute and compelling book cover delivers on its promise to be a fun, sweet little ride. This sixth book in the series also makes you envy what appear to be a gorgeous Maine, Atlantic Coast blue skies, fair winds location and seaward lifestyle. And you know I’m all over that!

This little romp in the Maine Clambake Mystery series by Barbara Ross features versatile and capable Julia Snowden as protagonist and amateur sleuth. She is low-key, perceptive, and quick to catch any nuance. She is part of the Snowden family that offers an annual sail and clambake to their little tourist retreat on Morrow Island twice a day for the summer season. During the off-season, she is part owner of a little diner with Quentin Tupper in Busman’s Harbor, Maine. Continue reading “Stowed Away – a Book Review”

A Murder for the Books – a Book Review

Title: A Murder for the Books: A Blue Ridge Library Mystery

Genre: Currently #2672 on Amazon Best Sellers Rank in Books, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Amateur Sleuths

Publisher: Crooked Lane Books

Publication Date: To be released December 12, 2017

Source: Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley

Title and Cover: A Murder for the Books – Cozy Mystery cover hints at library setting

Seems like this is the third book I’ve read recently with a library setting. I had no idea that libraries could be such a hotbed of intrigue!

This particular plot centers around Amy Webber who has moved in with her aunt in rural, historic Taylorsford, Virginia where she becomes the library director. She is escaping a disastrous affair. She’s found a good friend at the library in Sunny, and is introduced to the new man in town, choreographer Richard Muir, who inherited the farmhouse next door. He’s on a quest to uncover some old history involving his great-uncle, Paul Dassin, from whom he inherited the old house. He engages Amy to help with research and she soon realizes some of the history may include her family history as well. Together, they shortly discover a murder victim in the archive section of the library. Continue reading “A Murder for the Books – a Book Review”

Chained – a Book Review

Title: Chained by Eileen Brady

Genre: Currently #138 on Amazon Best Sellers Rank in Books, Literature & Fiction, Genre Fiction, Animals

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press

Publication Date: To be released December 5, 2017

Source: Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley

Title and Cover: Chained, bear is a small part of the story

Once again, coming into a series at #3, this Kate Turner, DVM mystery, has gotten a start on me, but really could be read as a stand alone. Without a lot of back story, we know that Kate is fairly new to the Hudson Valley town of Oak Falls. When their home town golden boy disappears, everyone thinks he’s made good on his vow to go to Hollywood. Unfortunately, one of her dog patients turns up a bone deemed to be human and it proves to be Flynn. The smashed skull proves murder–but that was ten years ago. Continue reading “Chained – a Book Review”

Mayhem & Mass – a Book Review

Title: Mayhem & Mass (A Sister Lou Mystery) by Olivia Matthews

Genre: Currently #623 on Amazon Best Sellers Rank in Kindle eBooks, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery, Cozy, Crafts & Hobbies (and Animals) (huh?)

Publisher: Kensington Books

Publication Date: To be released November 28, 2017 – Happy Release Day!

Source: Kensington Books and NetGalley

Title and Cover: Mayhem & Mass – Simple cover includes a church in the background; not representative of the novel location setting, nor is there a cat in the book that I remember. “For a plain clothes nun, sleuthing is a habit…”

Yes, I must admit to being Protestant. My husband is the Catholic. After more than 50 years with him, I still scratch my head over some of the rituals, beads, saints (some that have been desainted), but must also admit to many practices and ceremonies that I’ve enjoyed as well. My hubby and I were extremely privileged to sing in a choir for (Saint) Pope John Paul II in 1989 at Castle Gondolfo. (You can’t deny that holy aura.) So it was when I saw the title and read the blurb that I had to request and read this book. Continue reading “Mayhem & Mass – a Book Review”

The Plot Is Murder (Mystery Bookshop) – a Book Review

Title: The Plot Is Murder (Mystery Bookshop) by V. M. Burns

Genre: Currently #1139 on Amazon Best Sellers Rank for Books, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery, Cozy, Crafts & Hobbies

Publisher: Kensington Books

Publication Date: To be released November 28, 2017

Source: Kensington and NetGalley

Title and Cover: The Plot is Murder – Great cover includes the protagonist’s poodles

Here is a 1930’s British Cozy Mystery within a contemporary American cozy mystery. The protagonist, Samantha (Sam) Washington has lost her husband with whom she shared a dream to open a mystery bookshop in North Harbor, Michigan. She sells the home they owned, collected the insurance money, and buys an older building downtown where she will convert the upper story into living quarters and the main level into her mystery book retail space with hopes of providing a limited assortment of teas and scones. She has a support group that includes her grandmother, Nana Jo, and her grandmother’s friends from the retirement community. Unfortunately, closing the sale was difficult, had to involve an attorney, and left her with major animosity toward the real estate agent–the weasel. Unfortunately, before she can open the store, Clayton Parker, the agent, is found murdered in her back yard. Continue reading “The Plot Is Murder (Mystery Bookshop) – a Book Review”

The Compass Island Incident – a Book Review

Title: The Compass Island Incident: November 1963 by Wade Fowler

Genre: Currently #1551 on Amazon Best Sellers Rank for Kindle Store, Kindle eBooks, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Thrillers, Assassinations

Publisher: Sunbury Press – Milford House Press

Publication Date: November 22, 2017

Source: Sunbury Press – Milford House Press and NetGalley

Title and Cover: The Compass Island Incident – Compelling cover

I was excited to read this book for several reasons; one being yet another theory about the assassination of JFK, (2) it’s about one of our Navy ships, and (3) we certainly have history back then and can well remember the day. (Who can’t)

I’m sure we’ve never been satisfied with the findings of the Warren Commission that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. It was too monstrous, too heinous, too difficult to imagine that one disgruntled ex-Marine could have pulled off that act alone. No one believed it and wasn’t particularly surprised when the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) concluded in 1979 that Kennedy was “probably assassinated as a result of a conspiracy.” It’s not like the barn door has ever closed on that discussion.

Therefore, another conspiracy theory may be laid out as a compelling fictional story and I enjoy those ship details and vernacular, the stories at sea of the roiling mountains of salt water and survival. “The Compass Island was no scat back. Evasion wasn’t her running style.” Continue reading “The Compass Island Incident – a Book Review”

The Whispering Room: A Jane Hawk Novel – a Book Review

Title: The Whispering Room: A Jane Hawk Novel by Dean Koontz

Genre: Currently #76 on Amazon Best Sellers Rank for Books, Literature & Fiction, Action & Adventure, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine

Publication Date: To be released November 21, 2017

Source: Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley

Title: The Whispering Room: A Jane Hawk Novel

See what I mean? Obviously, I have been living under a rock, as if I’ve read a book by Dean Koontz before, you know I’d have remembered it. The Whispering Room is, yes, the second in the Jane Hawk series, having best-seller The Silent Corner directly preceding it, and apparently preceding it by only a few months(?! Is that even possible?). Apparently so, as here it is continuing exactly where the first left off (so I’ve been told). And–old story–I haven’t read the first one. Holy Moses! Mr. Koontz really puts the prose out prominently, doesn’t he? Continue reading “The Whispering Room: A Jane Hawk Novel – a Book Review”

Stay Calm and Collie On – a Book Review

Title: Stay Calm and Collie On (a Pet Palace Mystery #1) by Lane Stone

Genre: Currently #11374 on Amazon Best Sellers Rank in Books, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery, Cozy

Publisher: Lyrical Underground

Publication Date: To be released November 7, 2017 – Happy Release Day!

Source: Lyrical Underground and NetGalley

Title and Cover: Stay Calm and Collie On – Absolutely compelling cover-definitely generates interest

Just look at that cover! It gets you, huh, pulls you in. And actually, it also conveys the plot of the book very well. The Buckingham Pet Palace has a British co-owner who comes over to inspect her investment. The Lewes, Delaware US side of the upscale doggy daycare and spa co-owner Sue Patrick, knows her business, and generally has a good crew who caters to their furry clientele. That is, until one of them goes off the puppy pad just about the time Lady Anthea Fitzwalter arrives from across the pond to investigate her asset. Henry is found deceased in a van with several dogs he was supposed to be taking home. So much for first impressions! Continue reading “Stay Calm and Collie On – a Book Review”

Title: Murder at the Mushroom Festival (A Kelly Jackson Mystery) by Janet Finsilver

Publication Date: To be released April 17, 2018 – Happy publication day!

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Title: The Advice Column Murders: The Oakwood Mystery Series by Leslie Nagel

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Title: Last Night by Kerry Wilkinson

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Title: If I Live (If I Run series) by Terri Blackstock

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Title: Curses, Boiled Again!: A Lobster Shack Mystery by Shari Randall

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Title: An Eye For An Eye (an Ellie Mathews Novel book #2) by Caroline Fardig

Publication Date: To be released January 23, 2018 – Happy Publication Day!

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Title: An Engineered Injustice (Philadelphia Legal #2) by William L. Myers, Jr.

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Title: Need to Know by Karen Cleveland

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Title: Strangers by Ursula Archer and Arno Strobel

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Title: Grist Mill Road by Christopher J Yates

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Title: Splintered Silence (A Bone Gap Travellers novel) by Susan Furlong

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Title: The Wild Road to Key West-The Cave of the Stars by Michael Reisig

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I was excited to read this book for several reasons; one being yet another theory about the assassination of JFK, (2) it’s about one of our Navy ships, and (3) we certainly have history back then and can well remember the day. (Who can’t)

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